Iron Man 3

There isn’t much new here, which makes sense as it’s the third in a series. Naturally, there’s a pretty good amount of popcorn fun in this tentpole production, and the principals have lost little of their charm in the course of the years. But some of the magic, the spark that made the original so enjoyable, is lacking here. Still, given the nature of the film, you have to say it achieves its goals, and ultimately that works to the audience’s advantage.

Contagion

The most devastating affliction depicted in this movie? Grief. Lots of "disaster disease" movies get so wrapped up in the medical hokum that they lose sight of the human component to a deadly outbreak. Not so here--a terrific cast plays the emotional elements perfectly, and director Soderbergh does a masterful job with the presentation, giving the viewer a deep, connected, satisfying experience. Top notch.

Iron Man 2

Release-time reviews of this film made it seem like a major stumble by the same team of producers and actors who produced the original. In my eyes, the movie came across much better than expected. The events depicted seemed like logical extensions (in the fantasy sense) of the first flick's story, without any glaring false notes. It may suffer from a lack of freshness, a given considering the film is a sequel, but it's certainly not the worst "2" ever made. Hell, it's probably not the worst sequel made last year. As simple, big entertainment, the movie hits its marks, and that makes it worth a look.

Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow

Dumb with a capital D-U-M. It's visually interesting throughout, to be sure, but this film also contains some of the stupidest hokum ever to be put on screen (like serious confusion about time and place, for one example). Watch it if you must, but don't pay a dime to see it.

The Royal Tenenbaums

It's an odd one; no doubt about that. But it plays its low-key humor very well, and occasionally achieves moments of outright hilarity. Give it time to do its work and you'll be rewarded.

Shallow Hal

Not quite the laugh riot that most Farrelly Brothers movies are, but in this case I think it's intentional. This movie has surprising depth; some jokes and scenes are funny, but many are played straight up, and at some points it's actually moving. And don't get scared off by the subject--even if you're fat and touchy about it, you'll like this movie.

Bounce

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I think this one's worth a look--probably because Gwyneth Paltrow is good enough to lift any movie she's in. Just don't expect an profundity or lasting impact; it's simply one of those standard issue romance movies that the medium is so good at producing (and that work so well in the medium).

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Actually, this movie's full of talent, beyond the title character. The featured players--Damon, Paltrow, Law--are talented actors, and the setting is (mostly) that most talented of cities, Venice. And it's based on a best-selling thriller. With all that, it's hard not to be entertained.

Sliding Doo

Even if Gwyneth Paltrow hadn't given an excellent dual performance as the parallel universe versions of one young Englishwoman, this flick would still get bonus points for "best gratuitous use of a Monty Python quote."

Seven

Brad Pitt is edgy, Morgan Freeman is tired, Gwyneth Paltrow is the lamb, and Kevin Spacey is a world class creep. And they all do it very well. Not for the squeamish, but the rest of us shouldn't miss this one.